CHAPTER 3: DISTURBANCES
"It was just a false alarm."
Robert moaned to himself when he heard the answer Harry gave to James' inquiry as the former approached the breakfast table.
"Okay." James' fork hovered over his poached eggs. "So what was the emergency supposed to have been?"
Harry's lips tightened as he took his seat at the head of the table. "Just a disturbance in Diagon Alley the Ministry thought was bigger than it really was."
"And they called you out for a 'disturbance?'" James' face twisted into a mask of puzzlement. "Dad, you're Head Auror. I thought you only handled the really important stuff. Not some 'disturbance.'"
"Quit acting so suspicious, James." Ginny emerged from the kitchen, her wand guiding a plate full of eggs, sausage and toast toward Harry. "If it was something serious your father would tell you. Now eat your breakfast. We need to get a move on."
James' shoulders sagged as he eyed his mother. Robert expected him to say something else, but instead his friend speared a sausage link and resumed eating.
When James finished his breakfast, he headed back to his room. Robert wolfed down the rest of his food and hurried after him.
"Yo, man. You didn't look too convinced with what your mom said," Robert stated as they marched upstairs.
James worked his jaw back and forth. "I don't know. It's just . . . Dad sounded a bit cryptic, don't you think?"
"Yeah, you got a point. I mean, what kind of disturbance are we talking about? A couple drunken wizards shooting off spells in the middle of the street, or some goblins trying to start another uprising?"
"You got me." James leaned against the banister. "It's just strange to hear Dad talk like that. After all the half-truths and secrets he went through with Dumbledore during the war, he vowed never to do anything like that, especially with really important stuff."
Robert bobbed his head from side-to-side. "Then maybe this was something not really important. Just look around. London isn't a smoldering hole in the ground, there's no army of giants rampaging through Diagon Alley and Moldy-Voldie hasn't come back from the dead. So probably your dad was telling the truth. Whatever he rolled on last night turned out to be a big fat nothing."
"Maybe your right." James' eyes shifted to the floor. The oldest Potter child still didn't look convinced.
Before Robert could say anything else, Ginny bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.
"Oi! You two. Shake a leg. Your trunks and owl cages aren't going to carry themselves, and I sure as heck won't do it for you."
The two headed off to James' room, not daring to test Ginny's patience further.
Robert went to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth. He stared in the mirror, thinking of his words to James as a minty froth gathered in his mouth. He didn't seriously think Harry would keep anything major from them, but that one word 'disturbance' kept niggling the back of his mind.
Why just say 'disturbance?' Why not just tell everyone exactly what it was?
Robert grunted and spat out his toothpaste. He needed to stop dwelling on this. It wasn't like he was going to solve this mystery, if there even was one to solve. He needed to concentrate on more immediate matters.
Like getting ready to go to Hogwarts.
XXXXX
The atmosphere around 12 Grimmauld Place turned frantic. Harry repaired a crack in Albus' cauldron that the middle child had discovered two weeks ago . . . and forgot to tell anyone about.
"For Merlin's sake, Albus, that's not something you leave for the last minute," James lectured him. "Can you imagine if you took that cauldron to school and your potions leaked out of it? Professor Amaranth would have a fit if one of her desks got messed up."
Albus made a face at James once his brother's back was turned.
Robert just loaded his stuff in Dad's rental car when he re-entered the house and saw Ginny pounding down the steps, Albus right behind her lugging his trunk.
" . . . no sense of urgency," she grumbled. "One of these days I'm going to sit that girl down and have a long talk . . ."
Robert didn't catch the rest as she stormed outside, nearly knocking down Dad and Harry.
"Problem with Lily?" he asked Albus.
"That girl's completely mental. She's been up in her room for twenty minutes looking at four different pairs of shoes trying to figure out which one best matches her outfit."
"No way."
"Yes way."
Robert rolled his eyes. "Man, why are girls so friggin' obsessed with shoes?"
"Something's not right with them up here." Albus tapped his forehead. "You ask me, there's probably some bloke she's trying to impress."
"What!?"
Robert spun on his heel. A distressed look fell over Harry's face.
Dad chuckled and patted him on the back. "Yup. She's at that dreaded age when there's only one thing on her mind . . . boys."
Harry scowled and turned to Dad. "Yeah? Just remember in a few years your daughter will be at that 'dreaded age' too."
Dad stopped laughing.
By some miracle, everything and everyone were loaded into the cars with about an hour left before the Hogwarts Express departed . . . almost. Just before Robert climbed into the rental car, Mom marched up and slapped his wallet in his hand.
"There is a reason we tell you to check your room to make sure you haven't forgotten anything."
"Yes, Mom," he grumbled, more angry at himself than his mother.
Once Albus joined Robert in the backseat, Dad started the engined and followed Harry's car.
The trip to King's Cross was uneventful. The Potters and O'Bannons quickly loaded everything onto trolleys and pushed them through the station toward Platforms Nine and Ten. Robert's mind drifted as he weaved through the never-ending stream of Muggles walking to and fro. He imagined his father nearly thirty years ago, walking this very same path. Had he been as excited as Robert was now? Or nervous? To Robert, England had become a second home. He thought of the Potters, Weasleys and other former Triad members as a second family.
That hadn't been the case when Dad was his age. Sixteen-Year-Old Jimmy O'Bannon hadn't known a soul when he first came to England. Robert wondered if his father had had second thoughts about coming to Hogwarts back then.
Thank God he didn't act on them, otherwise I wouldn't even exist.
His contemplation ended as he approached the barrier leading to Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters.
James went first, followed by Albus. Robert then took a run at the barrier, not batting an eye. He had to do a similar thing at Boston Harbor to get to the Salem Schooner.
Darkness briefly surrounded him. When it lifted, a scarlet steam engine belching white smoke appeared before him.
"Whoa." He didn't expect to be in such awe over a train, magical or not. But how could he not be amazed at this site?
This was the Hogwarts Express.
"Excuse me, Robert."
Lily's voice snapped him out of his daze. He moved aside as Harry and Ginny entered Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, followed by Mom, Dad and Elysee.
Robert started to push his trolley, then froze. A strange buzz hovered millimeters above his skin. He felt a multitude of eyes on him.
All around the platform, witches, wizards and students paused stared at him. Eyes bulged, mouths hung open silently.
Da'hell's this about?
"Merlin's Beard. Is that Harry Potter?"
Robert eyed a slender golden-haired witch in her late twenties a few feet away. She gawked in his direction . . . actually, her stunned gaze went past him.
He looked over his shoulder as he caught more hushed voices.
"It's him. It's really him."
"Wow! Dad, look. It's Harry Potter."
"I don't care if he is old, he's gorgeous." This from a lithe brunette about Robert's age.
Harry rubbed the back of his head and looked to his feet, obviously embarrassed.
Oh yeah. Robert, of course, knew of Harry's pivotal role in the Second Big War. Hell, you can't get any more pivotal than killing Moldy-Voldie himself. But many times he forgot that Harry, as well as Ginny and Ron and Hermione and George, were all famous. After knowing them all his life, they were simply Uncle Harry or Rose's parents or Dad's old teammates.
Heck, sometimes he had to remind himself of his own father's fame . . . in both the Wizard and Muggle Worlds.
Some in the crowd, however, helped him.
"That looks like Jimmy O'Bannon."
"Is his son going to Hogwarts?"
"Nice to be famous, huh? Look at the kind of women you marry."
Robert noticed a wide grin on James' face as he surveyed the astonished crowd. Albus gazed at them with a half-smile.
What the hell? They have every right to be proud of their father. So did Robert, for that matter. Dad may not have killed the most powerful dark wizard in history and saved the world, but he made his own contributions to the war effort, then went on to became a big Muggle/Muggle-born Rights advocate, and a very successful pro hockey player in the Muggle World.
"You think we can make it out of here without signing autographs?" Dad joked with Harry.
"I haven't managed that since James' First Year."
"Just give your adoring fans a quick wave and let's get to the train," Ginny said with a mischievous grin before turning to the kids. "We don't want you lot scrambling for a compartment at the last . . ."
"James!" A feminine squeal pierced the air of constant chattering.
A trim girl with flowing dark hair and classic features jumped on James. Robert drew his head back in surprise as she firmly planted her lips on his friend's.
Harry turned away, trying to cover his expanding smile. Dad looked on with bemusement. Elysee scrunched her face and went, "Eeeeww." Mom turned to Ginny with wide eyes. The redhead shrugged, her expression saying, "What can you do?"
Robert slid over to Albus. "I take it those two know one another?"
The two Sixth Years finally broke the kiss, with James taking a deep gulp of air. "Good to see you again, luv."
"Miss me?"
"You know it. Oh. I need to introduce you to someone. Kayla, this is my friend Robert O'Bannon. He's going with us to Hogwarts this year. Robert, this is my girlfriend, Kayla Pomosa."
"Nice to meet you." He shook the girl's thin hand and briefly scanned her from head to toe. Well, James certainly has good taste.
"Oh, you're James' friend from America. He's told me so much about you. He even loaned me your father's book, A Foot In Two Worlds."
"Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Actually both my folks are over there if you want to meet them."
"That'd be smashing. Thank you. Back in a tic, James."
Kayla gave James a quick kiss on the cheek and practically bounded over to Mom and Dad.
"Well she's pretty . . . lively."
"Mate, you don't know the half of it." James waggled his eyebrows.
Both boys chuckled and tapped fists. Out the corner of his eye, Robert glimpsed Albus examining a brick wall with all the enthusiasm such an activity deserved.
Kayla just started talking to the Potters when Edward Weasley appeared, followed by his parents Bill and Fleur, then Arthur and Molly Weasley. A couple minutes later they were joined by Charlie and Svetlana and their three children.
"Come on, Dad. Come on!" Boris pulled Charlie toward the train. "I wanna get on the Express. Oh! Hi, Albus. Hey James, Lily, Robert. Come on, Dad!"
Charlie gleefully surrendered and let Boris drag him along.
"I envy him." Albus watched his cousin cheerily approach train. "I was scared out of my wits my first time going to Hogwarts."
"That's not surprising," Lily said. "What with James constantly teasing you about how you were going to be sorted into Slytherin."
More people popped out of the barrier. Hugo, Rose, Ron and Hermione, George and Branwen and their children. Robert breathed deep, almost lifting himself off the ground as his gaze fell on Rose.
I'm just excited to see my friend. My good friend. That's it. Nothing more.
Rose caught sight of him, smiled and waved. She really did have a nice . . .
She's like family!
Robert started over to her when a plump dark-skinned man with a goatee and a woman with long dirty blond hair, radish-shaped earrings and an airy expression plunged into the group.
"Luna! Dean!" Ginny rushed over and embraced the Thomases. That started a chain reaction of hugs and hearty handshakes among the adults.
"This is so cool," a lanky caramel-skinned boy shook hands with Robert. "You being with us at Hogwarts. You know, one of my suitemates switched rooms, so there's a spare bunk in my room if you get sorted into Ravenclaw."
"Thanks, man," he told Harold Thomas. "But since my dad was in Gryffindor, I figure that's where I'm gonna wind up."
"You never know. Who would have expected my mum to wind up in Ravenclaw when she was at Hogwarts?"
Robert silently nodded. Something scraped at the back of his mind. Something unsettling. He tried to bat it away as Harold's mother came up to him.
"It's so nice to see you again, Robert." Luna Thomas hugged him. "You're going to have a wonderful time at Hogwarts. At least you already have plenty of friends there, unlike I did. But I managed quite well. Oh, and best beware of wrackspurts. They're becoming resistant to the Anti-Infestation Wards around the school."
"Wrackspurts. Right. I'll be on the lookout." Not that he actually believed in wrackspurts or nargles or any of Luna's other fantasy creatures. But as Dad told him years ago, "With Luna, it's just easier to smile and nod."
The group continued talking as they made their way toward the Hogwarts Express. Robert checked the clock sitting atop a pole near the barrier. Fifteen minutes before he left for Hogwarts.
"Hey, look." George pointed. "It's the owner of one of my favorite establishments."
Robert followed the tall redhead's finger. It aimed at a short woman with puffy cheeks and long braided blond hair. Two children flanked her, one a tall blonde boy with a narrow face, the other a chubby girl with short black hair.
"You say that, but it's been two weeks since I've seen you in your 'favorite establishment.'" Hannah Longbottom wrapped her arms around George.
"What can I say? Branwen has a streak of good meals going. Don't worry, though. She can't keep it up forever. Then you'll see me back at the Cauldron."
George's wife slapped his arm . . . hard. He just laughed.
"Hey, Alicia." Rose smiled down at Hannah's daughter. "Excited about your first year at Hogwarts?"
Alicia Longbottom interlocked her fingers behind her back and twisted her body side-to-side. "I-I guess."
"Don't mind her," said her half-brother Efram. "She's been fretting over this all week long."
"H-Have not."
Rose gave Alicia a sympathetic smile and tried to comfort her as Hannah made her way toward Robert's parents.
"Jimmy. I hate to impose, but there's this Muggle family just over there. Their son's a First Year. The parents look like their about to completely go to pieces. I was just wondering if you could have a few words with them. You know, being Muggle-born yourself."
"Sure. No problem. Lead the way."
Robert watched his mother and father follow Hannah across the platform.
"Come on, Robert." George put an arm around Robert's shoulders. "Why don't you go help your parents, too?"
"What?"
George started pushing Robert's trolley. With a quizzical expression, he followed. His face contorted more when George looked over his shoulder, then suddenly turned the trolley into a space between two kiosks.
"Uh, what's going on, Uncle George?"
Again, George checked over his shoulder, then turned back to him. "Didn't want to do this in front of the, ahem, 'grown ups.' But I had to give you your going away present."
"'Going away present?'" Trepidation mixed with Robert's curiosity. Whenever the word 'present' came out of George Weasley's mouth, one had to be wary.
With a Cheshire Cat grin, George reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small bright red box with the words YUMMYLICIOUS CHOCIES.
Robert's eyes shifted from the box to George's freckled face. "This isn't gonna blow up, is it?"
"Course not. They're my latest creation. Blazing Butternuts."
"So what do they do?"
"Think of the spiciest food you can imagine. These little gems are a hundred times hotter. And here's the brilliant part. If you drink anything after you've eaten one, your mouth gets even hotter. One time I tried it I actually had steam come out my ears, just like in those Muggle cartoons."
George planted the box in Robert's hand. "Let me know how they go over."
"Um, isn't it against the rules to have Weasley Wizard Wheezes stuff at school?"
"Yes. It's also against school rules to snog in the corridors and chuck Fanged Frisbees around, but kids still do it." George clasped Robert's shoulder and leaned closer. "And remember, you're not breaking the rules if you don't get caught."
Robert couldn't help but chuckle.
"Good luck, Robert. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to give Hugo his present. Tough thing to do. Hermione actually put up wards around that boy that'll go off if I give him anything from the shop. I swear, it's like she doesn't trust me or something."
"Yeah, I can't imagine why."
George smiled and walked back to the crowded platform.
Robert opened the box and examined the inside. As with most of George's edibles, they looked just like regular old chocolates. They should be easy enough to sneak on someone's plate during meals. The only dilemma was who to give it to. James? Albus? Rose? No friggin' way. She's off-limits for this stuff. Maybe Lily. She could be a bit uptight. This would certainly loosen . . .
" . . . it's just after I overheard those aurors before I left the Cauldron this morning, I had to ask you."
Robert cranked an eyebrow. The voice belonged to Hannah Longbottom, and came from just around the kiosk.
"There were some things that seemed a tad suspicious . . ."
That was Harry talking to her.
" . . . but we found nothing conclusive."
"But do you think . . . I mean it can't be. Harry, if there's . . ."
"Hannah. I know what you've gone through with this. Trust me, if I knew for certain I'd tell you. I'd tell the whole world. But I don't want to send people into a panic over something I have serious doubts about."
There was a long pause before Hannah spoke. "It's just, I hear about this right on the heels of Varley's disappearance and . . . I'm just so worried. I checked with the landlord at his flat. He hasn't seen him since the day before last. And given the state he's in . . ."
"Look, Hannah. I'll assign Teddy to check into your employee's disappearance. And if there are any new developments on the other front, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Harry."
Robert's muscles tensed. What the hell were Harry and Hannah talking about? Did it have something to do with the reason Harry got called away last night? And who was this Varley guy?
The hair on the back of his neck tingled. He felt more was going on than just mere "disturbances."
NEXT: Doubting Robert